Denzel Washington Gets Shovel Ready

Denzel Washington is eyeing a leading role in the upcoming Warner Bros. adaptation of Adam Sternbergh’s debut novel, Shovel Ready, Deadline reports.

The book, set to be published in 2014, offers a sci-fi world where humanity uses a virtual reality program to escape the catastrophic destruction of New York City. Washington would play a killer, hired to assassinate a young girl, but who becomes her unlikely protector.

Washington, who recently starred in Robert Zemeckis’ Flight, will next re-team with his Training Day director Antoine Fuqua’s The Equalizer.